Monday, April 26, 2010

Most everyone I know( well at least in the boomer age bracket) is or has been a care giver.

We are caring for aging parents, sick parents, spouses, children and rearing grandchildren.

In some instances I have known friends who were doing all of the above at the same time.

And....... yes, we are still working jobs, trying to maintain relationships, and some shadow of a normal life.

So( and I feel I can speak freely here, because I too have been a caregiver and at that time

also home schooled a teenager) I tend to always mention the airplane rule. What is the airplane rule you may ask? Well, when you get on a plane and the flight attendant starts to talk about if the cabin loses pressure, those little plastic oxygen masks will fall from the ceiling.......you put yours

on first!!!!!!! and what is the reasoning behind that thinking????? YOU CANNOT HELP SOME ONE ELSE UNTIL YOU TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST!!!!!!!

and I know all the excuses, well I don't have time, I just can't , the list goes on and on.

For those of you who are out there caring for everyone else in the world and totally ignoring yourselves, STOP IT NOW! Give your self 15 minutes per day, read, drink a cup of tea and stare out the window, shower and leave the phone in the other room, paint your toenails,

call a friend, go out side and breathe. Learn to accept help, when someone offers to help, graciously accept it and say thank you that would be nice.

I know those days, when you wish with all your heart that someone would just take care of you for a moment, those days when if you could just have an hour with no one asking you to do something. When you didn't have to smell disinfectant, dirty diapers, or sick room odors,

the moments when you think you will not make it another day and you cry yourself to sleep.

When those you are caring for, tell you they hate you and you look in the mirror and don't recognize yourself. Remember the airplane rule, care for your self, good nutrition, a haircut

every once in awhile, some makeup, see your doc/dentist, a walk, some fresh air, water and don't forget to breathe! All of this shall pass, and one day, life will change, transformation will take place.